Who we are

At CERN, our work helps to uncover what the universe is made of and how it works. We do this by providing a unique range of particle accelerator facilities to researchers, to advance the boundaries of human knowledge.

At the end of the Second World War, European science was no longer world-class but a handful of visionary scientists imagined creating a European atomic physics laboratory. Founded in 1954, the CERN laboratory sits astride the Franco-Swiss border near Geneva.

CERN is run by 22 Member States, each of which has two official delegates to the CERN Council. The CERN Council is the highest authority of the Organization and has responsibility for all-important decisions. It controls CERN’s activities in scientific, technical and administrative matters.